Automobile-lamp.



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2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented Apr. 22,1919.

0. M. OTTE.

AUTOMOBILE LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 26, 1917.

0. M. OTTE.

AUTOMOBILE LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-26,1917.

1,301, 163. Patented A r. 22,1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

2 ///7W\\\\\YP 301L////// 1 IL I ll //7/'\\ G u u u \k K%/%/ I) I) H U m II II OTHO I. OTTE, F JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK.

AUTOMOBILE-LAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 22, 1919.

Application filed February 26, 1917. Serial No. 150,888.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTHO M. O'r'rn, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Jamestown, in the county of Chautauqua and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile-Lamps, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

The invention relates to lamps for vehicles; and the object of the improvement is to provide a lamp with a partly parabolic reflector in which the light emitted from the lamp is projected in one direction, being controlled by the mechanism of the lamp so as to direct the light onto the roadway and also shade the light from the vision of passers-by, the light controlling'mechanism consisting of a lens within said reflector and concentric tubes arranged in pyramidal form with screening planes on the front ends of said tubes to screen or shade the light as stated; and the invention consists in the novel features and combinations hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical diametral sectional view of the lamp from front to rear showing the construction and arrangement of the difl'erent parts and their relation to one another. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the front end of the concentric tubes in their pyramidal form, a portion of the outer tube being broken away to show the end of the horizontal or crosswise screen plates on the front of said tube. Fig. 3 1s a plan view of the preferred form of one of the blanks before shaping into. one of the concentric tubes with the horizontal plate attached at the upper and lower edges ofthe same, the tube and both the horizontal planes being formed from the singleplateand Fig. & shows the tube and hor1zontal planes as formed ready for assemblage 1n the concentric pyramidal form. Figs. 5, 6

. and 7 show a modification with opposite halves of the tube and horizontal plate shown in Fig. 4, said tube and horizontal plate being made from two plates instead of one, being assembled as shown in Fig. 7 with the horizontal planes at the upper and lower edges of the tube.

Like characters'of reference refer to cor-. responding parts in the several views.

The numeral'lO designates the outer shell 3 or casing of the reflector,- which casing is preferably made of thin sheet metal with open ends, the front ends being open the full diameter of the larger end of the outer shell and covered by the glass 11 which is held in place by means of the metal rim 12, preferably with the rubber gasket 13 beneath the same and between saidglass 11 and the spacing ringl l.

The ring 14 spaces the outer shell, from the inner reflector shell 15 which is shaped substantially the same as the outer shell 10 but sufiiciently smaller to permit being supported within said outer shell 10 and held in place by means of the spacing ring 1 L near the front end and the spacing ring 16 near the rear end, the shell 10 and reflector 15 being attached to the spacing rings 14; and 16 In any suitable manner.

The small or rear end of the reflector 15 has a round opening 18 surrounded by the curved, circular flange 19 into which the spherical reflector 17 is sprung, being made to fit closely within said curved circular spring flange 19 to thereby hold the reflector 17 firmly in position upon and so related to the reflector 15 that it closes the small openingin the end of the same, and that the greatest radius of the smaller reflector 17 is less than the smallest radius of the greatest reflector 15, the two reflectors being shaped to receive one another in continuous refracting surfaces. a

An electric lamp 20 is mounted in a suitable lamp holder 21 in the center of the small reflector 17, and has the connecting wires 22 leading to the source of electrical energy. The electric lamp 20 when mounted in the holder 2-1 is so placed in relation to the reflectors 15 and 17 that the center of the light is at that point which will best be reflectedby the two reflectors in their relation to one another.

A lens 23 is supported a spaced distance in front of the electric lamp 20 by a ring vsuflicient number of oppositely extending wires 25 being! provided to adjust the ring 24 in the centered position within the reflector '15 and squarely before the lesser reflector 17. The light collecting field of the lens 23 should approximately equal the light collecting field of the smaller reflector 17 as to diameter and the lens should be so placed that its principal focus coincides with the focus 27 of the reflector 17. The reflected light will thence pass through the lens 23 in the same general direction as they direct rays of light. being complementary to and in addition to the direct rays passing through the lens 23, thereby bringing all the rays of this portion of the light into .line withthe shaft of reflected light.

The non-parallel rays of light are absorbed by means of a plurality of parallel concentric tubes or barrels 28 which extend in spaced relation around a common axis represented in Fig. 1 by the dotted line 29. The tubes 28 are preferably supported parallel to one another and substantially equidistant from one another in spaced enlargement with the smallest and longest tube at the center and a spaced distance in front of the .central portion of the lens 23.

'The largest tube 30 extends around the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion of the reflector shell 15 from that point on the inner surface at which the curvilinear surfaces ofthe reflector begin. The tube 30 is a simple cylinder extendin reflecting surfaces. The under side of the screning planes '31, which are usually horizontal, may be inclined and polished so that they act as reflectors to throw the light upon the roadway.

The tubes 28 with the screen planes 31 are preferably made from one piece of sheet metal, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the part 32 forming the tube 28 when bent into the tubular or cylindrical form and the ends attached to one another. The part 33 thereby becomes the upper horizontal lane 31 and the two halves 34 are brought mto abutting relation when the part 32 i turned to the tubular form thereby forming thehorizontal plane 31 at the bottom of the'tube 28,"'as shown in Fig. 4. i I

A slight modification of this manner of constructing the tubes 28 and horizontal planes 31 is shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, in which the horizontal plane portion 31 for the top is attached to the side of one end of a half of the tubular portion 28, as shown at 35; and the horizontal plane 31 for the bottom of the tube 28 is attached to the side of the lower end of a half portion, as shown at 36. The two halves are then joined as shown 1n Fig-.7, thereby completing the tube 28 from the reflector 15 to the mouth of t e cylinder.- All the remaining tubes 28 are cylindrical" in form fora portion of this distance and withthe horizontal planes 31 at the top and bottom of the same and extending out across I the ends of the other tubes.

It is. apparent that the concentr1c tubes 28 not only assist in directing the rays of light, whether'reflected or direct, but also protect the vision of approaching drivers and passersby and that the horizontal planes 31' assist in this protection of vision as well as direction of the light since the light is more powerfully deflected upon the roadway by the horizontal planes 31.

The field of light at the front of the reflector 15 is indicated by the double pointed arrow 37, 'all rays of light being concentrated into this field by the reflector 15 assistedby the lens 23 and tubes28, but it is apparent that the light is given a side reflection by the horizontal reflectors 31 upon the roadway in front of the vehicle. .The horizontal planes 31 are preferably in line with the tubes 28 though they may be deflected downward slightly thereby concentrating the light more perfectly upon the roadway directly in front of the vehicle, as shown in Fig. 1.

The small opening in the rear end of thecasing 10 through which the lesser reflector flector 17 for the adjustment and renewal of the same.

Each of the planes 31 is preferably made straight and extends ed eWise out over the ends of the tubes 28 outside. of the tube 28 to which the plane is attached thereby intercrossmg and breaking up. the light, making 1t far easler to screen the light by means of the compound screen formed by the planes 31 and tubes 28. It is apparentthat the tubes 28 and planes 31 .taken in combination form a very complete screen for the vision of an approaching driver unless said driver 1s squarely in front of the light;

,There is complete circulation in the lamp construction. The heat rises from the lamp 20 and goes forward against the glass 11 wh1ch cools it. The planes 31 are spaced from the inner face ofthe glass 11 a short distance, as shown at 42, thereby permitting the cooled air to drop soon as cooled by the glass 11, for it is apparent that as thejlamp is forced through to the lower side as from the lamp 20. As the air drops to the lower portion of the lam it passes back and up past the lamp 2O agam thereby causing a continuous circulation of air in the shell 15 as soon as the lamp 20 is lighted.

I claim as new A 1. In a reflector, a light controlling tube and planes shaped from a single sheet of metal comprising a lengthwise portion of said sheet as the tube portion, the central portion of the other lengthwise and longer part of said sheet of metal integrally attached to the center of said tube portion and two end portions also integrally attached to the ends of said tube portion to unite said two end portions in a single plane with said planes on opposite sides of the tube when said tube portion of said sheet of metal is turned into a tube.

2. In combination with a reflector, and a source of light, a series of concentric light tubes within said reflector, and a plane at the outer end of each tube arranged tangential thereto.

3. In combination with a reflector, and a source of light, a series of concentric light tubes within said reflector, and planes at the outer ends of the respective lengthwise slits and spaced from the ends of the sheet, the

material between the lateral slits being left flat and the material on the opposite side of the sheet being curved into tubular form,

with said ends of the sheet disposed substantially parallel to said fiat portion and with the edges formed by said lateral slots substantially abutting.

5. In a reflector, a light controlling tube and a plane integral therewith and tangential thereto and extending out from the front end of the tube.

6. In a reflector, a light controlling tube and a pair of planes integral with the tube extending out from the front end of the tube and tangential thereto.

7. In a reflector a light controlling tube and a plane integral therewith, said tube and plane being formed of a single piece of sheet metal bent so that the plane is arranged in front of the tube.

8. In a reflector, a sheet metal member having a slit, the metal on one side of the slit bein left flat to form a plane and the metal on t e other side of the slit being curved with the flat portion tangential to the curved portion.

9. In a reflector, a single piece ofsheet metal bent to have a plane and a curved part integral with the plane and connected to the latter at approximately the center of the length of the plane and on one side thereof.

10. In a reflector, a single piece of metal bent to form a tube and a pair of parallel spaced planes tangential thereto and integral therewith.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in the presence of two wltnesses.

OTHO M, OTTE.

Witnesses:

H. A. SANDBERG, I. E. NOBDSTROM. 

